Return of the rat...

It carried on snowing yesterday evening and Keith asked me if I could drive him to the pub at 6pm. I wasn't that keen to be honest, as I'd had a lovely bath and really didn't want to venture out into the freezing night again! However, I didn't want him walking down to the village so I agreed, but it wasn't a very pleasant journey and I'm glad we didn't have to go far! Sophie came along and neither of us were dressed warmly enough so the thought of getting stuck was a frightening one!

Luckily, we made it back in one piece but I was determined to dress more appropriately on the way back to get him! Even the simplest thing like taking the recycling out to the garage at the moment is a pain, as the driveway is covered in the white stuff and we tread clumps of snow and ice all over the kitchen floor whenever we come back in. It's a total pain. Who wanted all this snow?

When Sophie and I went back to get him, we bundled ourselves into coats, hats and scarves and I put some stout boots in the car in case we became stuck...and we nearly did, just yards from the pub when I stopped on a slight incline to pick him up, after saying I would meet him at the entrance to the car park (which is on quite a steep incline and no way was I going to risk that!). We had a few words as the car wouldn't move and couldn't get any grip on the snowy road. In the end I turned into a driveway and then reversed so I was facing the way we'd come, but I was not happy!

It snowed all evening so Sophie texted Maureen at work to warn her we might not be able to get her in tomorrow morning. The state of the roads into the village was horrible and I wasn't going to risk trying to get in if it snowed all night. Maureen suggested Sophe swap her day with another member of staff so we had the next day free.

It doesn't look bad but the drifts were far deeper!

We awoke to lying snow and a horrible fog over the fields, which has persisted all day. Mike called me at about 9am so Keith and I drove to Brixworth to get him. The roads had cleared a little but towards the village, the snow drifts meant that only one lane was usable. Luckily we didn't meet anyone coming the other way!

Keith bought some sausages in the Co-op and we had these for breakfast with scrambled eggs and toast. Unfortunately, as we were eating, we saw a rat in the garden again. It was rather big with a thick, long tail and it made my stomach turn. I suppose it's our fault as we put so much food down for the birds, but it was really horrible to see and it didn't seem at all frightened by our presence, even when Sophie banged on the window. It stole three fat snax so I asked Mike to go and get his air rifle and try and get him from our bedroom window. He went upstairs but of course the rat disappeared.

After breakfast, while I was keeping an eye out, we saw him again and this time he dropped a fat snax by the corner of the garage. I dashed upstairs and grabbed Mike's rifle and positioned myself at the window with the fat snax dead in the centre of the sights. He appeared again but I wasn't ready (in the panic I couldn't find the trigger!) so he made off with another one. I asked Keith to put one back in the exact location and waited again. This time my finger was already on the trigger and after a bit of a wait he appeared. I pulled the trigger and hit him, much to Keith's (and my) amazement!

I don't know where I hit him or how badly, but seconds after I'd fired the shot, he somersaulted over and we found blood on the snow. Keith had run downstairs to try and see what had happened but he'd gone so I can only assume he had returned to his nest. Sophie was really angry with me, especially as we'd just ordered a humane trap on the internet that catches them alive to be released elsewhere.

However, I tried to explain to her that the rat could have bitten Monty if he'd tried to attack him and that neither Keith nor I wanted him in the garden - the thought of him coming in and taking food makes my skin crawl. She knows I love animals and in all honesty I didn't think for one second I would hit him, but we haven't seen any sight of the rat since, so I must have either injured it or frightened it.

Today hasn't been the sort of day to venture out anywhere, especially as the roads are covered in icy slush. I sorted out my underwear drawer (as you do) and tried on some new clothes that I'd bought online. I also tidied the cupboard above our wardrobe and discovered an old holiday diary and some photos which set me off on a path of reminiscing!